The Immortal Region had never been merciful to the weak and helpless. It had always been a land of savage and ruthless men...
About 680 years ago, a Great War devastated the Northern Region. At that time, the Southern Region was merely a forgotten land.
Among the ruins of what had once been the magnificent White Moon Kingdom, an independent country that had eventually been annexed, survivors fought for their lives like cornered beasts.
In the streets that had once been the kingdom's commercial center, orphaned children and young survivors hid from small groups of assassins and slave hunters.
Huddled among the rubble of the houses, two children hid from the hunters. Several weeks earlier, around twenty children had been captured and taken away by force. Their fate? No one knew, but what had happened to some of them was enough to terrify everyone.
Hunger had descended upon the survivors, while the ruthless men committed terrible acts against them. There was no hope left, nor any faith in God...
Among the two children hiding there was a little girl of about nine years old. She had long, light-brown hair, tangled and covered in dust. She wore nothing but a few old rags that barely protected her small body from the cold. Her once-innocent eyes carried the weight of the recent war and the loss of her parents. Every day, she and her older brother fought for a little food, clinging to one another in order to survive. The girl's greatest fear was not hunger or the cold, but losing the only family she had left.
As she listened to the pleas of the people being captured, she clung tightly to her brother's hands, terrified that one day the worst would happen.
The young man, around sixteen years old, had red hair and a relatively lean build. He embraced his little sister and tried to comfort her. He was frightened as well, and he knew there was nothing he could do.
Both of them cried as the desperate screams of the captives echoed through the ruins.
Three days after that incident, the red-haired youth ran desperately with an injury to his leg. Not long before, he had fought relentlessly against a Black-Fanged Boar, a low-level savage beast whose meat was consumed by mortals and novice cultivators.
Something strange had been seen moving among the trees. Concerned, the young man grabbed his kill and ran, only to be ambushed by men who clearly belonged to a group of Slave Hunters.
He dropped his prey and fought back, but the difference in strength was too great, and he was eventually wounded. However, he reacted quickly and soon descended the cliffs in an attempt to escape.
Back in the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom, the little girl trembled from the cold as hunger gnawed at her small body. Yet she held a rotten apple in her hands and refused to eat it—not because it tasted bad, but because she was worried about her brother. Her heart raced with fear whenever he left to hunt.
Her little eyes had lost their light long ago. She watched the alley leading to the road, always waiting for her brother and praying for his safe return.
The place where the little girl was hiding had once been a fork between several houses. After the destruction, however, the entrances to the streets had been buried beneath the rubble, and the only way to reach the area was through a narrow alley.
Suddenly, she saw him arrive.
But there was a problem.
He was gasping for breath, terror filling his eyes, while blood poured from a deep wound in his leg.
The young man rushed toward his sister. With a sorrowful expression, he grabbed a strip of old cloth and tied it over the little girl's mouth. He quickly carried her deeper into the rubble and gestured for her to remain silent.
Soon, voices could be heard.
"He's here!"
The young man returned to the entrance of the alley and found the hunters waiting for him. He immediately engaged them in a desperate hand-to-hand struggle, trying to keep them from discovering his sister.
"Hold him!"
"This bastard is pretty strong!"
The constant shouting did not frighten the little girl away. She was worried about her brother and wanted to help him. She knew these people were evil because they smelled horrible.
Crawling beneath a huge piece of rubble, the little girl caught sight of her brother being captured. She wanted to scream, but the cloth tightly tied around her mouth prevented her from doing so. She understood that if she revealed her hiding place, her fate would be tragic and her brother's efforts would have been in vain.
Her eyes filled with tears and despair.
In her mind, she cried:
Don't hurt my brother! Please, stop!
As they tied the young man up, one of the hunters made a careless mistake, giving the Red-Haired Youth an opening. He threw a punch at one of them, striking him in the face.
It did nothing.
The young man received a heavy blow to the stomach and lost consciousness.
However, the man who had been struck flew into a rage. He drew his sword and slashed twice at the Red-Haired Youth's throat.
The little girl, already drowning in tears, widened her eyes as she witnessed the horrifying sight of her beloved brother being brutally murdered.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, you bastard?!" one of the men shouted angrily at the youth's death.
"That bastard deserved it. He dared to test my patience," the murderer replied.
"He's our merchandise, and you killed him like that! I ought to do the same to you!"
The men were about to clash, but the third man stopped them.
"You two should stop. It's not worth fighting over a single piece of merchandise. There are plenty of children hiding among these ruins. We should return and wait."
Thus, the four men left, abandoning the young man's body behind.
A moment later, a section of rubble that had been resting at a slight incline was lifted by a pair of small hands.
The little girl looked from side to side. When she saw that no one remained, she approached the body...
...in tears.
She did not scream or thrash about. Even if she had wanted to, the old strip of cloth was still tied over her mouth. But she no longer cared about any of that...
...that day, the little girl lost the will to live.
Her mind was blank. She could no longer think or reason. Kneeling over her brother's body, she sobbed as tears streamed endlessly down her face, clinging tightly to the young man's now-cold chest.
Blood flooded the surrounding area. The little girl knelt in the crimson pool, silently staring at her brother's head, which lay two palms away from his body.
Suddenly, the little girl began to tremble.
She crawled over to her brother's head and brought it back to his body, placing it where it belonged. Then she rested against his chest once more, staring at his face with wide, tear-filled eyes.
The weather was harsh, and snow ravaged the world that day.
But the little girl did not care about the bitter cold. She did not care about hunger either...
She remained there, over her brother's body.
...
More and more people were immobilized and killed; the cave was narrow, and the main members of the Bai Mansion were being kept and protected at the front.
The situation was beyond desperate. Little by little, the entire guard force protecting the family was being wiped out. Bai Lanyue pushed the remaining survivors forward while slowing down the enemies behind them.
After the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, somewhere outside the ancient city of Qingyao, a rock broke loose and was pushed aside by tremendous force.
The rock shattered into countless fragments, revealing an opening through which several figures hurriedly emerged.
"Run!"
The Bai Family moved away from the cave, but their enemies followed close behind. Bai Lanyue could not hold all of them back, and several groups of assassins surrounded the weaker members.
Of the Bai Family's guards, only two remained: Feng Qi and Luo Zixuan.
"Behind you!" Feng Qi shouted.
While they fought against hordes of enemies, one of them quietly approached Luo Zixuan from behind. The enemy was about to strike, but Feng Qi caught him off guard and swiftly delivered a horizontal slash across his throat.
The calluses on Feng Qi's hands had been torn open and were bleeding. He had never been involved in such a fierce confrontation before, and the enemies seemed to increase in number with every passing moment.
Seeing that the situation was spiraling out of control, Bai Lanyue formed eighteen hand seals and grabbed all the survivors with her Mental Force. An indigo-colored aura enveloped her feet as she swiftly leapt into the sky, flying above the clouds at an astonishing speed.
It was the first time Feng Qi had ever seen such a panoramic view of the world. The clouds and plains below looked like tiny specks that quickly disappeared from his sight.
"Miss Bai Lanyue! Have you reached Core Formation?" Luo Zixuan asked.
"Unfortunately, no!"
Bai Lanyue did not want to prolong the conversation. There was no time for that now.
She frequently glanced back with concern. There were many experts capable of flight, but obviously, most of them had been left behind because of the technique's extreme speed.
However, using this technique consumed an enormous amount of energy. Her eyes were already growing heavy, and little by little, her speed began to decrease.
Bai Lanyue did not wait. The moment her feet touched the ground again, she rapidly formed eight hand seals and enveloped everyone in an aura resembling Heaven and Earth.
"This is my final trump card," she gasped. "I won't have any energy left to fight after this."
A thin stream of blood ran from her nostrils as she formed the Eighth Seal.
"Everyone, listen carefully! Stay within this aura and do not dare to step outside! This is a small-scale Concealment Technique. I won't be able to maintain it for long, so be prepared!"
Although it was considered a small-scale technique, it was astonishing.
Its name was the Heaven and Earth Veil Technique.
It returned the presence of everyone within a small radius around the caster to Heaven and Earth itself. Even Nascent Soul experts would find it difficult to detect the slightest trace.
An expert's Spiritual Sense was incapable of distinguishing Heaven and Earth from the caster of the technique. They could not even imagine such a phenomenon.
How could a living being return to the Heavens if its body was still right there?
The caster simply ceased to exist.
Or rather, they had completely disappeared.
Suddenly, hundreds of presences appeared above the concealed aura. Everyone remained silent, relatively frightened by the possibility of being discovered.
But that did not happen.
The presences quickly divided and headed in different directions.
However, Bai Lanyue did not dare to dispel the technique. She maintained it for several hours until she was on the verge of mental collapse before finally releasing the concealment.
Blood continuously poured from her seven orifices. Her eyes were sunken, and her body trembled without pause.
"Elder Sister!"
In tears, Bai Lan caught her sister before she could collapse.
"Dear, take these. They're Healing and Qi Recovery Pills."
Bai Tianheng removed several Miracle Pills from his Spatial Ring and handed them to Bai Lanyue.
Her recovery was slow because her injuries were not external. Although the Qi Recovery Pills helped, her problem was much more serious.
Bai Lanyue sighed and raised her index finger, taking out a different Miracle Pill from the ones Bai Tianheng had given her.
"Mental Restoration Pills!" the former Governor exclaimed.
"You overused the technique, exhausting your reserves of Spiritual Qi and consequently affecting your mental state."
Still unsatisfied, Bai Lanyue took out another small box containing Soul Restoration Pills.
"These are techniques I avoid using unless absolutely necessary. My soul was injured by using them repeatedly."
She bit down on a pill and felt her mind and soul being revitalized once more.
"Under normal circumstances, I only use them for a few minutes."
The Soul Restoration Pill could rapidly restore a cultivator's Mental Force and Spiritual Energy while also stabilizing their mind when it was on the verge of collapse.
"Using the Azure Firmament Steps consumes a great deal of energy... but the Heaven and Earth Veil goes even further. It relies not only on Spiritual Qi and Mental Force, but also on Soul Power..."
Bai Lanyue's face showed a trace of pain.
"I overdid it."
It took the time of one incense stick before she finally ordered everyone to withdraw.
In her hand, a small doll made of Spiritual Clay concealed everyone's presence. As a low-grade Concealment Artifact, it could not evade Spiritual Sense, but it could escape the notice of ordinary people.
It was considered useless, but this was a desperate measure.
The group, consisting of the Bai Family, their relatives, Feng Qi, and the sole remaining survivor of the Luo Family, walked aimlessly through the dense forest.
Everyone was exhausted and devastated. They did not know their exact distance from Qingyao, but they estimated that they were around 1,200 miles away.
Everyone quickened their pace. It was not long before they found an ancient path leading to the Main Road.
This had been Bai Lanyue's intention all along.
The Main Road connected various provinces and districts. It was the primary route linking the entire Southern Region.
Suddenly, the Jade Pendant inside her pouch began to glow intensely.
At that moment, Bai Lanyue sensed that help was approaching.
Relieved, she explained the situation to everyone.
And thus, it was time for Feng Qi to say goodbye.
"This path will take you to the Main Road. The position of the sun reveals the direction of Linhe, the city closest to Qingyao. Follow the road to the left. Remember that."
Bai Lanyue explained this after handing him a map depicting all the important routes throughout the Region.
Feng Qi, however, remained thoughtful. He stared at the map with a sorrowful expression before shifting his attention to the rest of the group.
His duty to the Bai Family had finally come to an end, albeit earlier than expected.
He was not happy about the situation.
Things had been far too chaotic these past few days.
He sighed—not because he was leaving the Bai Family, but because things had ended this way.
He would probably never see them again...
...and Bai Lanyue.
Something about this woman left him uneasy.
The feelings he had once held for Lu Yuhuan could not compare to what he felt for Bai Lanyue.
Feng Qi was in love...
However, he had already been disappointed by love once, and because of that, his heart had grown cold.
Now, he would follow his dream.
Feng Qi turned his back and, without saying a single word, left them behind.
Luo Zixuan was angered by his attitude, but Bai Lanyue stopped him.
She watched Feng Qi's departing silhouette and sighed.
She had not had many opportunities to speak with him. In fact, the number of times they had actually talked could be counted on one hand.
Yet, strangely...
...she felt something for him.
"Good luck, Feng Qi..."
The group remained on alert. They never knew when their enemies might attack.
Bai Lanyue constantly stared at the sky, waiting for something.
Some time later, while they were walking away from the road, she suddenly sensed a presence beside her.
Her gaze immediately shifted.
The new Governor of Qingyao...
Or rather, the Governor of Lingxiao.
What she had feared had happened sooner than expected.
Escaping from an Immortal Master of such a caliber was practically impossible, and she knew it.
Things had reached this point because of her own stubbornness.
Bai Lanyue acknowledged her mistake.
Being under the tutelage of a powerful Master did not mean she was immune to trouble.
Even Spirit Kings had their own problems.
"You really are unusual," Qin Xue said.
"You possess astonishing techniques for someone with such a low cultivation level. The Heaven and Earth Veil is considered a High-Level Technique, and the Azure Firmament Steps..."
"Impressive. Truly impressive!"
She clapped her hands while displaying her usual broad smile.
Beside her stood several others—her disciples and Elders of the Glacial Lotus Sect.
Pūtōng!
Bai Lanyue's heart pounded.
Her body seemed to freeze in the presence of this existence. There was nothing she could do.
She had been waiting for help, but something had gone wrong.
This was probably the work of another Spirit King.
"I've been watching you ever since I arrived. Your cultivation talent is more than worthy of praise."
Qin Xue, the Northern Immortal, slowly approached Bai Lanyue, ignoring everyone else.
"I cannot see your future, nor can I see your past..."
Qin Xue's gaze was profound, as though she were analyzing every secret within Bai Lanyue's body.
"This can only mean one thing—your destiny is to become a Transcendent."
Bai Lanyue did not understand at first, but she remained completely still, not daring to move a single muscle.
"An extraordinarily rare talent, bordering on a miracle."
"A talent like yours is worth more than the entire Southern Region."
"It seems that this time, I am the one who has won my bet against the Heavens."
Qin Xue said this while gently caressing Bai Lanyue's face.
Her family remained on guard, but they knew that nothing they could do would make a difference.
It was a futile effort.
The disciples and Elders beside Qin Xue respectfully bowed before her, congratulating her on discovering such an extraordinary talent.
"Congratulations, Master Xue!"
"Master Xue, surely you will take her as your disciple, right?"
The old Elder radiated joy, but in truth, he was envious of the discovery.
In his mind, there were countless possibilities that could allow him to break through the Soul Transformation Realm.
And one of them was...
...Spiritual Root Extraction!
The old man was tempted.
But he would never reveal it.
He did not even dare to entertain such thoughts in front of Qin Xue, because even his thoughts could be read.
Therefore, he buried his intentions deep within his heart.
However, before he could realize it, Qin Xue was already staring at him with her usual sinister smile.
At that moment, the Old Elder feared for his life.
"Old Wuheng."
Qin Xue slowly approached him, her voice filled with coldness.
"Keep that shameless greed of yours well away from my disciples."
The Old Elder immediately lowered his head.
"F-Forgive me, Master Xue. I promise it won't happen again!"
He felt as though his life had flashed before his eyes.
Even though he had kept his thoughts hidden, his intentions were as clear as day before this woman.
Qin Xue paid him no further attention and turned her focus toward what truly mattered.
Never before had she encountered such divine luck.
Finding a talent this rare made her feel that, after all these years, her efforts would finally amount to something.
I will use every resource available to nurture her. Those Heavenly Grottoes... I will devote all of them to this girl's cultivation.
A genuine smile appeared on her lips.
"Little girl, you are my disciple from this moment onward!"
Qin Xue did not care about Bai Lanyue's past, much less her wishes.
She had decided to accept her as a disciple, and so it would be—whether Bai Lanyue wanted it or not.
Bai Lanyue, on the other hand, had no choice.
Her heart tightened.
To preserve her family's lives, she would be forced to accept.
Not that she had any other options.
However, as she desperately tried to escape the situation, her mind suddenly cleared.
At the same time, something enveloped her entire being, like a veil concealing her mind and heart.
Then, a voice from the depths of the Void spoke:
"Disciple, bring her."
The voice explained something else as well, and suddenly, Bai Lanyue was enlightened to a new technique.
Her heart was still pounding as she swallowed nervously.
She cupped her hands before her chest and respectfully bowed to Qin Xue.
"Disciple greets Master Qin Xue."
Her family members and servants appeared relieved when she accepted without hesitation.
Their lives would finally be spared.
Qin Xue found no resistance in her mind, nor any falseness in her heart.
Bai Lanyue had truly accepted her as her Master.
Then, a sinister laugh echoed through the forest.
Qin Xue was more than merely happy.
To her, this was her greatest discovery since she had found the Small World of a Spirit King.
Trembling, Bai Lanyue said:
"Master, now that I am your disciple, there is something I must confess."
"Oh? What does my adorable disciple have to confess?"
"It is this Jade Pendant, Master."
The pendant, which was still in her hand, was handed over.
Qin Xue took it and examined it carefully.
"It seems to contain some kind of mysterious ener—"
Suddenly, the Immortal Master of the Glacial Lotus Sect disappeared from everyone's field of vision.
The Old Elders cried out in unison and searched for her with their Spiritual Senses, but found nothing.
"What did you do to our Master?!"
The Core Disciples of the Glacial Lotus Sect shouted.
"I can't sense Qin Xue anywhere. What happened?"
With Qin Xue's whereabouts unknown, the Old Elders did not know what to do.
But Old Wuheng did.
Sensing danger, Bai Lanyue used the last of her strength to flee.
However, she was quickly caught before she could reach her family.
Old Wuheng grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground.
"Girl, hand over the artifact and tell me where she went. If you lie, I'll make you wish you'd never been born."
Bai Lanyue's expression was one of pure despair.
The old man's strength was so overwhelming that he could break her neck at any moment.
Gathering the last of her strength, she shouted toward her family:
"What are you waiting for?! Run now!!!"
The situation once again became desperate.
Luo Zixuan, the only surviving bodyguard, took a deep breath and thought one last time of his entire family.
While the members of the Bai Family fled, Luo Zixuan stayed behind to buy them time.
But it was futile.
A single Core Disciple was already at the Core Formation Realm, as powerful as the Old Elders of the Tian Family.
They could reshape mountains, dry up seas, and even touch the sun.
And only one of them was enough to pass straight through Luo Zixuan.
At first, nothing could be seen.
In truth, the body of a Core Formation cultivator was made entirely of pure Spiritual Energy. Ordinary people and cultivators were incapable of even seeing them.
What stood before them was merely a false physical body.
When the Core Disciple took his second step and grabbed Bai Lan, Luo Zixuan's body was torn in half.
He had been completely unable to see anything.
Before his death, a tear rolled down his face as he imagined the peaceful days he had spent at the Bai Mansion and his great duty of protecting the Lord of the household's daughter.
He apologized to everyone and gradually lost consciousness.
His soul was quickly collected by the Spiritual World.
Luo Zixuan had now gone to a better place...
At that same moment, the other disciples caught up with the remaining members of the Bai Mansion.
Meanwhile, Bai Lan was being violated by the Core Disciple.
Bai Tianheng even attempted to save his daughter from such an act, but his strength was insignificant compared to these monsters.
"Since things have come to this, I'll make this woman mine!"
The Disciple declared.
Bai Lan's screams were desperate, while Bai Lanyue fought with all her strength to break free from Old Wuheng and save her sister.
Tears streamed endlessly from her eyes.
Even on the verge of death, her willpower allowed her to continue.
"L-leave... my sister alone!!!"
Bai Lanyue frantically burned her Vital Qi.
Her strength exploded in a desperate burst, allowing her to momentarily break through Old Wuheng's suppression.
She was no longer conscious of her own body.
Her mind had almost completely dissipated, leaving behind only the deep hatred that kept her standing.
Because of the strangulation and the burning of her Vital Qi, her face was drenched in blood.
In the next instant, with a single step, Bai Lanyue appeared at the scene of the assault.
Without hesitation, she delivered a powerful kick to the Core Disciple's head, employing an advanced body-combat technique.
The man's head exploded like fireworks as his body collapsed onto Bai Lan.
Blood sprayed in every direction.
At the same instant, Bai Lanyue extended her palm and dispersed a sphere of concentrated Spiritual Energy capable of disrupting the Spiritual Sense of the Old Elders, even if only for a few moments.
Bai Lanyue removed the man's body from atop her sister and then carried her in her arms.
However, after taking her third step, Old Wuheng appeared before her.
And now, with her consciousness completely gone, she remained motionless while tightly holding her sister.
"This woman is incredible!" one of the Elders exclaimed.
"Tsk! That bitch destroyed my physical body. I should make her mine too!"
A voice echoed from somewhere invisible.
Suddenly, a silhouette could be seen, and little by little, a physical body took shape.
It was the man who had just been killed.
In truth, Bai Lanyue had only destroyed his physical body.
That was what it meant to reach the Core Formation Realm.
The Old Elders seemed unconcerned with the others, but they prevented the man from doing anything to Bai Lanyue.
They feared Qin Xue's retaliation.